Loom check strap



Nov. 6, 1951 E. s. MESERVEY 1 2,574,275

LOOM CHECK STRAP Filed May 12, 1949 fan/w S. M53512 vs);

INVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOOM CHECK STRAP Edwin S. Meservey, Kingsport, Tenn.

Application May 12, 1949, Serial No. 92,786

This invention relates to looms and more especially to an improved picker stick check strap therefor.

Heretofore, the most common of check straps has comprised a single, relatively long piece of leather, the opposite ends of which have been overlapped and riveted and/or glued together or secured together by bein bolted to a bracket on the lay of the loom. A piece of leather of sufficient length to be used as a check strap is very expensive because only a small portion of a cowhide has leather of sufficient thickness and length to be used for this purpose. There have also been picker stick check straps in use which comprised a pair of short pieces of leather overlapping each other at opposite ends thereof and also being riveted and/or glued together. In any event, both of these types of picker stick check straps have proved unsatisfactory due to the fact that the constant impact of the picker stick against the overlapping portions of the strap or straps, as well as the im act of the picker stick against the portions of the leather strap which may not be overlapped, caused the picker stick check strap to become worn beyond use within a relatively short length of time or to become cracked or broken to such an extent that the check strap would have to be replaced.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a picker stick check strap comprising a pair of elongated pieces of pliable or flexible material such as leather, woven webbin and the like and to further provide a pair of laminated blocks, to the opposed sides of which opposite ends of the leather straps are secured by any suitable means such as riveting, bolting, rawhide thongs and the like. Thus, when in use, the impact of the picker stick is taken by the laminated blocks of material disposed bet een the leather straps rather than by the leather straps themselves which will not only provide a longer life for the picker stick check strap but will also provide for a more accurate and efiicient checking by properly centering the picker stick in the shuttle box than has heretofore been the case.

In this improved picker stick check strap, the only strain on the leather side walls thereof is a stretch action which tends to elongate the side straps, and, of course, there will be a certain amount of wear due to the frictional contact of the side straps sliding through the bracket friction fingers which support the check strap on the loom.

It is another object of this invention to provide a check strap comprising a pair of blocks, pref- 2 V erably of laminated leather material, to the opposite sides of which the ends of side straps are adapted to be secured. The side straps are curved throughout their length and the proximate surfaces of the laminated blocks are also curved to conform generally to the curve of the edges of conventional picker sticks and the curvature of the leather straps conform generally to the arcuate path of travel of the portion of the picker stick passing therebetween.

It is another object of this invention to provide, in a check strap of the type described, a check strap having bowed side straps with buffer blocks secured between their ends, the blocks decreasing in width from their proximate ends to their remote ends so as to produce a wedging action between the blocks and the side straps secured thereto to thus cause the blows of the picker stick to compact the blocks between the ends of the side straps.

An important advantage in providing bufier blocks of the type described is that strain on the side straps of the check strap is eliminated when the central portions of the side straps are bowed outwardly, as the shape of the buiTer blocks causes them to conform to the bowed shape of the side straps. Also by providing buffer blocks of the type described, any strain which would ordinarily be placed on the side straps by the picker stick getting out of line and not striking the center of the buffer blocks is eliminated.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanyin drawing, in which Figure l is a side elevation of a shuttle box at one end of the lay of a loom and showing the improved picker stick check strap as it is applied to the lay;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the improved picker stick check strap but showing portions of the brackets which support the picker stick check strap in cross section and is taken along the line 2-2 in Figure 1, the picker stick being shown in a difi'erent position for purposes of clarity;

Figure 3 is an isometric view of the picker stick check strap fully assembled but being removed from the loom.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral l0 indicate one end of the lay of a loom having a shuttle box lay plate H and box front l2, there being a binder also on top of the plate II, but this binder is behind the box front and it is not shown. Between this binder and the box front l2 a shuttle i3 is adapted to be received to cause its nose to strike a conventional picker l4 mounted on the upper end of an oscillating picker stick l5, which is driven by conventional means, not shown, so as to have back and forth movement in a conventional slot, not shown, provided in the lay l and the plate I I.

Secured to the lower and side surfaces of the lay l0, and on opposed sides of the path of travel of the picker stick l5, are conventional brackets 20, only one of which is shown in Figure l, and each of which has a pair of downwardly projecting spaced fingers 2| and 22, all four of the fingers 2| and 22 being shown in Figure 2.

Each of the brackets 23 has an outturned lip portion 23 having a slot 24 therein which is slidbe noted in Figure 2 that the fingers 2|, 2'] and 22 are off-set relative to each other and thus provide for a proper amount of frictional engagement with the side straps of the check strap to be presently described, as it is moved longitudinally when stopping the picker stick as it oscillates or swings in both directions. The mechanism heretofore described is a conventional part of many looms and it is with this mechanism that the improved picker stick check strap is adapted to be used.

The improved picker stick check strap comprises a pair of arcuate side straps 30 and 3| of pliable material such as leather which are Preferably curved throughout their length so their center is normally in a slightly higher elevation than opposite ends of the strap and these straps 30 and 3| are adapted to be secured at opposite ends thereof to laminated truncated wearing blocks 32 and 33. If so desired, solid blocks may be used in place of the laminated blocks 32 and 33, however, it is a well known fact that laminated blocks of any type of material usually have better wearing qualities than solid blocks.

The blocks 32 and 33 may consist of a plurality of strips of leather, or of part leather and part plastic material, or of any other suitable material, such as rubber, paper, fiber board, and wood. However, for best results, it is preferred that laminated leather blocks be used between the ends of the straps 3D and 3| as shown in Figures 2 and 3. These laminations of the blocks 32 and 33 may be glued together, if so desired, before the straps 30 and 3| are secured to the opposite sides of the same.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, it may be observed that the proximate faces of the blocks 32 and 33 are cut at an angle, this angle being about the same angle at which the picker stick l5 will engage these surfaces and also these surfaces are curved to conform to the curvature of the front and rear faces of the lay picker stick l5 so that the front and rear surfaces of the picker stick will engage the proximate surfaces of the blocks 32 and 33, respectively, throughout the width of the picker stick. This will also cause the picker stick to be centered in the slot in the lay plate and thus aline the picker with the path of the shuttle.

It will be noted in Figure 2 that the upper and lower sides of the blocks 32 and 33 converge slightly from the proximate sides of the blocks 32 and 33 toward the outer or remote sides of the blocks 32 and 33 so when the straps 30 and 3| are secured thereto, by means to be presently 1,

4 scribed, the filler blocks will be wedged between the ends of the side straps by the successive impacts of the picker stick, thus keeping the filler blocks compact at all times.

Both ends of the straps and 3| may be secured to the blocks 32 and 33 in an identical manner, if so desired, however, it is preferred that one end of the strap, which is the left-hand end in Figures 1, 2 and 3, be secured to the block 32 as by rivets 33. These rivets are driven through the strap member 3| and the block 32 and then the other strap member 30 and then have suitable washers 31 slipped over the ends thereof, after which their ends are peened over or bradded as at to thus secure the straps 30 and 3| to the blocks 32.

The right-hand end of the straps 30 and 3| in Figures 1, 2 and 3 are secured to opposite walls of the block 33 by screws 42 having wing nuts 43 on one end thereof, the screws 42 being slidably mounted in the straps 30 and 3| and in the block 33 so either one or both of the straps 33 and 3| may be removed from the block 33 and which will facilitate mounting the picker stick check strap on the loom with the picker stick passing therethrough without the necessity of removing the picker stick from the shoe to which it is normally secured at its lower end.

It is thus seen that I have provided a built-up picker stick check strap which is simple in construction and may be produced economically and which embodies features which render it serviceable for a longer period of time than has heretofore been possible in other picker stick check straps.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred form of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claim.

I claim:

A check strap for checking the movement of an oscillating picker stick in looms comprising a pair of arouate flexible straps disposed in spaced vertical planes in a loom which are disposed on each side of the path of travel of the picker stick and whose arcuity coincides with the path of travel of a given point on the picker stick, a pair of truncated wearing blocks of laminated material disposed between the ends of the traps, means penetrating one of the wearing blocks and one end of the straps for fixedly securing the straps to the said one of the wearing blocks, removable means penetrating the other wearing block and the other ends of the straps for removably securing the straps to said other wearing block, the proximate faces of the wearing blocks being of arcuate formation and being disposed in planes which converge at the center of oscillation of the picker stick.

EDWIN S. MESERVEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Num er Name Date 1,328,018 Snow Jan. 13, 1920 1,356,366 Hunt Oct. 19, 1920 1,486,899 Jacobs Mar. 18, 1924 1,863,271 Handley June 14, 1932 2,350,495 Crocker June 6, 1944 2,371,025 Carter Mar. 6, 1945 2,393,148. Crocker Jan. 15, 1946 

